Cope with Being Bored
Being bored is possibly one of the worst ways to spend any given amount of time. However, with a little bit of imagination and some boredom you can turn some unproductive time into something with fun injected into it.
Contents
Steps
Making Chores More Interesting
- Make your tasks a game. The best way to fight prolonged boredom is to make a game out of the tasks you must get done.
- Make chores awesome.
- Pretend there was a hazardous materials spill in your kitchen. It's...Ebola or something. Eww. Deck yourself out in fake protective gear and mop it up.
- You're a mad scientist conducting experiments. Now, chuck the experiments that didn't make it out of the refrigerator (where you were storing them). Come up with a nefarious purpose that each one was supposed to have.
- Pretend you're a horribly abused butler as you fold your clothes. Plan how you'll take out your boss and keep their money.
Creative Fun
- Get creative.
- Make up your own fairy tale. It must include the following elements: a ring, a witch, and a horse. Post your story in the discussion section!
- Write a letter of advice to your younger self.
- Doodle. Draw one of the following: the weapon you would use to take over the world, your favorite Disney character, a llama wearing a top hat and bow tie. He is a fancy llama.
- Draw a bunch of random images on scraps of paper. Shuffle the papers. Make a story up for the order in which you pull them out.
- Get musical.
- Sing one of your favorite songs. Now sing it as a jazz song. A country song. An opera. Do as many styles as you can think of.
- Beatbox and tap out rhythms. It's easier than you think.
- Make up your own song. Write your own lyrics about whatever you want. You can also write a song about: your pet, what it was like when you were in the third grade, or how you'd bring peace to the Middle East.
- Make lists.
- Write your top favorite movies of all time.
- Write the friends you'd take with you in a zombie apocalypse. Don't forget to write what weapon they use and who lives and dies.
- Write a list of all of the New Years Resolutions you've broken. Choose two and give them another try.
Playing Games
- Make a bet with yourself. Then play tic tac toe. Use a big board with lots of squares. Don't cheat.
- Play board games with friends. Get out the old board games and see who can play without cheating or seeking refuge on the computer.
- Play card games. There are lots of card games. Bet you don't know the rules to most of them... yet.
- Make up new games. Test them out with your friends, refine them and think about marketing them.
- Dig out an older video game from your attic or garage and play it.
Making Connections
- Get social.
- Go talk to someone you've never met.
- Look through your Facebook friends list. Message 5 people you haven't caught up with in a long time.
- Conspire with some friends to do something really nice (really significant and heartfelt) for another friend that deserves it. Make this a regular thing.
Learning New Things
- Learn a new skill.
- Teach yourself how to roll a penny between your fingers.
- Practice different ways of rolling your tongue. Did you know the different abilities are genetic?
- Go and learn an actual skill that you've always wanted to have. It's guitar. It's guitar for everyone.
- Read something cool.
- Have you ever actually read the Bible? It's more entertaining then you'd think. To make it even better, try reading it in a non-standard format, like the Brick Bible (the Bible told in a funny way using Legos, which is available for free online). If you're from a different faith, read the major faith book appropriate for your faith. If you have no faith, learn about other religions and what gives people their desire to pursue a faith. Learning all that you can about the world's religions is never wasted time.
- Give comics a whirl. You loved reading them in the paper when you were younger. Did you know you can still read comics online for free? Search "webcomics" and find one that looks good to you. Good ones to start with include "Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal", "Dinosaur Comics", and "What: What If?".
- You're sure to have a book you've been neglecting. Your grandma gave one to you three years ago for your birthday. Just read it. Stop procrastinating. It's good for you.
Indulging In Make Believe
- Be a superhero.
- The room you're in is suddenly taken hostage by aliens. Quick: how do you escape?
- Come up with a superhero identity and origins story for everyone in the room.
- Actually help someone. Whether you're volunteering or just helping an old lady take groceries out to her car, you'll find you end up feeling like a real hero.
- Turn the imagination up to 11.
- Make up dialogue for a conversation you can't hear. Look at two people talking that are just far enough away that you can't hear. Following their expressions and body language, imagine a silly conversation that they could be having.
- Imagine your animal sidekick. What's their personality like? Do they die at the end of the story?
- Think up the trailer narration for the movie of your life.
- Go outside. Pretend that your backyard is a field or a green desert. If you live on a farm, go outside and explore. If you have tools or some sticks, pretend you're out on a hunt, a safari or an explorer's mission.
Being active
- Start moving.
- Go for a jog. Don't step on any cracks in the pavement. Grass is now hot lava.
- Choreograph a dance to your favorite song...even if it's only in your head. Bonus points if you actually do the dance.
- Balance on one leg for as long as you can. Then do the other.
Online Time
- Get your internet on.
- Try out popular websites that collect awesome things, like the Frogman blog, BoingBoing, Digg or StumbleUpon.
- Educate yourself on websites like TED, Snopes, or Upworthy.
- Browse wikiHow. Find the three most ridiculous or worst articles you can. Post your collection in the discussion section. This way they'll get noticed and fixed.
- YouTube the boredom away.
- Watch fail compilation videos.
- Watch videos from when America's Funniest Home Videos was still good.
- Take the Afro Circus Challenge. This clip will supposedly drive you insane after a few minutes. How long can you stand it before you have to turn it off?
- Watch some DIY, Life Hack, or Buzzfeed videos
Going Back In Time
- Go back to your childhood.
- Take a nap. You know, the second you get too old to take naps is about the same time where you start to really appreciate them.
- Take a bubble bath. Reenact Master and Command with the bar of soap. Or sing as much of Rubber Ducky as you can remember.
- Build a fort. Come on. Forts are awesome. Do you still have the best pillow construction skills in the West?
Tips
- Do not eat while you are bored. This can cause you to gain unwanted weight. If you truly can't live without food at the moment even if you aren't hungry, drink some water or milk, suck on ice, or chew gum.
- If you are a really serious person, lighten up. It could be the reason you're bored.
- Become as desperate as possible and waste any possible resource in order to cope with boredom. If it's reasonable at the time, do it.
- Be as creative as possible. Obey every stupid thought your mind has. It only has them to try to keep you from killing yourself.
- Find random pieces of cloths, wood, etc. and make it into a craft!
Warnings
- Stop looking at the clock; try doing something else to keep your mind off of time.
Related Articles
- Overcome Boredom
- Beat Boredom over the Summer
- Beat Boredom on the Weekend
- Overcome Internet Boredom
- Make Sure the Kids Don't Get Bored
- Keep Your Kids from Becoming Bored During the Summer
